As soon as the war ended — even before, in areas controlled by Union troops — formerly enslaved people took advantage of their freedom. Helped by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands — known as the Freedmen’s Bureau — they searched for lost family members, made their marriages legal, learned to read and write, and organized to fight for their civil rights. In this chapter we’ll explore the expectations that Black Americans had for freedom and their priorities once they had it.

Section Contents

• Primary Source: What Justice Entitles Us To
• Primary Source: Character of Men Employed as Scouts
• Early Schools for Freed People
• Primary Source: Freedmen's Schools the school houses are crowded, and the people are clamorous for more
• Primary Source: Louisa Jacobs on Freedmen
• Primary Source: Address of The Raleigh Freedmen's Convention
• Primary Source: Reuniting Families
• Making Marriages Legal
• Primary Source: Charges of Abuse
• Juneteenth